Lifeboat crew rescue whale caught in ropes

A lifeboat crew were called in to perform an unusual rescue off the south-east coast.

Volunteer RNLI lifeboat members had to free a large whale after it got snagged on ropes attached to lobster pots about a quarter of a mile offshore of Tramore, Co Waterford.

The Tramore RNLI lifeboat was launched after 11.30am yesterday after a local fishing boat spotted the creature was in difficulty.

Crew members discovered that the lobster pot rope had become snagged in the whale’s mouth and it had been twisting in the water in an attempt to free itself.

The lifeboat crew, who had been joined by a fishing vessel, tried to cut the rope. However, each time they attempted to do this their boats were dragged by the whale.

They decided to use a hoist on the fishing boat to winch the animal up and were then cut the rope.

The lobster pots were hauled onboard and once released the whale calmly swam out to sea.

“We felt that one wrong move and we could be flipped over in our inshore lifeboat,” Tramore RNLI crew member Tom McConnell said.